By the time sophomore running back Yaiden Ochoa finished his historic rushing effort for the Hillcrest Christian football team last Saturday night in the Saints' 68-32 wipeout of Lancaster Christian at Fillmore High, the respect, honor, deference and, yes, down-to-the-heartstrings hurt had roared like a freight train.

"I wanted to do something," said Ochoa. "The whole team did."

The 10th-grader measures in at a mere 5-foot-8, 135 pounds, but turned in a night's work that was Jim Brown-sized. He piled up 404 yards and six touchdowns, including scores of 75, 72 and 66 yards, amid Hillcrest Christian's decisive victory in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 8-man playoffs.

Yaiden Ochoa of Hillcrest Christian wrote the name of friend Blake Dingman, who was killed in the Thousand Oaks mass shooting, on his headband and went out and led the Saints to a victory in a Division 2 8-man football playoff game last Saturday night.(Photo11: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

For his game, Ochoa wore a head band with "Blake Dingman" written in large, black letters on the side. The Saints all included decals with the No. 12 — in reference to the 12 lives lost — on their helmets. Most also tattooed "12" on their arms.

The 15-year-old Ochoa fondly remembers his friend.

"He's been a family friend like forever," said Ochoa. "He went to school with my brother (Logan). They played baseball together. When we heard what had happened, it was shocking. It's one of those things you can't believe is true."

Dingman also had ties to Hillcrest Christian. He attended the Thousand Oaks school as a freshman and played on the baseball team. Logan, who is now at Grand Canyon University, was a high school teammate.

Yaiden Ochoa of Hillcrest Christian wrote the name of friend Blake Dingman, who was killed in the Thousand Oaks mass shooting, on his headband and went out and led the Saints to a victory in a Division 2 8-man football playoff game last Saturday night.(Photo11: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

"He was a funny guy, just fun to be around," said Ochoa. "He was always getting in trouble, but I mean that in a good way. He liked to have fun. If you were with him, you also had fun."

Ochoa said Dingman had a passion for car, motorcycles and motorsports.

Hillcrest Christian coach Christian Dearborn said the game-time tribute to Dingman and the tragedy's victims provided an emotional evening for the entire school.

"They players talked about doing something to honor the victims," said Dearborn. "I couldn't be prouder of what they did. It was a tough week for the team and everybody in the community. They paid a nice tribute."

Already grieving from the loss of their friend, Ochoa and his family twice had to evacuate their residence in Thousand Oaks in the wake of the Woolsey Fire.

Grieving from the loss of friend Blake Dingman in the mass shooting, Hillcrest Christian football star Yaiden Ochoa and his family had to be evacuated twice from their Thousand Oaks home because of the Woolsey Fire.(Photo11: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

They were forced out Thursday and Friday, scrambling any sense of comfort. Then Ochoa went out and played the game of his life Saturday night.

"It was amazing to watch," said Dearborn. "He started out with those touchdown runs of 75, 72 and 64 yards, and it continued to grow from there. It didn't really hit me to how impressive it was until I watched the films.

"The blocking was tremendous. It seemed liked Yaiden got those first five yards without being touched, then he would put a move on a linebacker and be gone. He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he's very quick and he knows how to make defenders miss."

Ochoa said, really, what he did that night was just run.

"Everybody blocked so well," he said. "I just had to run. With everything that was going on, it was also so important for the team. We never have been this far in the playoffs before. It's a big deal."

Ochoa said he previous rushing high this season was "around 185 yards." He more than doubled that total in the semifinal win. So what's next?

"Hopefully, we can get another win this week," he said with a chuckle. "That's all I care about."

Hillcrest Christian (8-2) will play host to top-seeded Hesperia Christian (9-1) in the semifinals on Saturday night at Moorpark High. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

"They're going to be the best team we've faced this year," said Dearborn. "The only game they've lost is to the best team in Division 1. But our kids are definitely motivated and ready to play. It should be a great game."

Ochoa said the Saints are seeking the big finish.

"Winning a championship is something we've talked about all season," he said. "Ever since last year, we've been getting ready for this year. We were all out playing baseball and running track, but always thinking about football.